For the last two days, we toured the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mission (PPM) where our son, Rex, served his mission about 10 years ago. So, now, on this trip, we have visited the places where three Elder Marins have served as missionaries - Rex, Ryan and me. The first photo is at Meadville, PA. This is where the Channel-Lock (long handled adjustable pliers) manufacturing plant is. There was a very nice baseball field a few blocks from this church building and I imagined Rex either jumping the fence or getting in there somehow to play a little baseball on his Preparation Days (day off).
The one in the middle is at Oakdale, PA and the last one is of the Beaver Valley Ward building where he attended while serving in the Aliquippa, PA area. Bishop Weeks remembered Rex. Aliquippa was a thriving "mill town" up until sometime in the 1970s when the steel industry collapsed in the United States within a two year period. Today it is, as it was when Rex served there, a challenging area. It was very cool to drive through each of these areas and wonder which doors Rex had knocked on and where he might have given missionary discussions. He served as a District Leader while serving in Connellsville, PA